Sports briefly: Men's Davis Cup final is tied 1-1 after first day

In a battle of big servers, Argentina's Juan Martin Del Potro beat Croatia's Ivo Karlovic 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-3, 7-5 on Friday to leave the two teams tied at 1-1 following the opening singles matches in the Davis Cup final in Zagreb, Croatia.

Del Potro, the 2009 U.S. Open champion who is capping a comeback after two injury-hit years, made the crucial break in the 11th game of the fourth set with a spectacular return of Karlovic's serve.

Del Potro had double set point in the second set before slipping.

"After losing the second set, I was a bit frightened," Del Potro said. "Ivo was playing real well, but I managed to regain composure."

Karlovic, who at 37 became the oldest man to play singles in a Davis Cup final in nearly a century, served 35 aces while Del Potro had 15.

"After winning the second set, I was hoping to continue like this, but my level went down a bit and his level went higher," said Karlovic who returned to the team after a four-year absence.

Doubles will be played Saturday and reverse singles Sunday. Team captains refused to reveal which pairs they will use.

Obituary: Former U.S. Olympic track coach Stan Huntsman, whose men's team won seven gold medals in the 1988 Games in Seoul, has died in Austin, Texas. He was 84. He was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2004.